Kaley Cuoco was called a completely different name for 20 years

From Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey to Bruno Mars and Eminem, we all know that celebs often like to shun their real name for something a little more glitzy.

Sometimes they might ditch a well-known family name in a bid to avoid any nepo baby claims, or they might simplify an element to make it easier to pronounce.

Actor Kaley Cuoco, best known for playing Penny in The Big Bang Theory, is someone whose name falls into the latter camp, although it may not be quite as it seems.

She once called in to a radio show to discuss how one of the hosts had got the pronunciation of her surname all wrong, admitting it’s something that happens regularly.

Presenters from On Air with Ryan Seacrest were chatting about an ‘amazing’ spread the star had done with Women’s Health a few years back.

Co-host Tanya Rad confessed she found it tricky to pronounce Cuoco’s last name, saying: “I can’t say it for the life of me!”

Actor Kaley Cuoco (Tommaso Boddi/Variety via Getty Images)

When they revisited the topic later on the show, Seacrest told her: “Well she happened to hear you say her name – half of it – and she’s on the phone now.”

Cuoco could then be heard telling Rad: “I’m so mad that you couldn’t say my last name I had to call in!”

Thankfully she was clearly only joking, adding that it was actually ‘OK’.

The star went on to reveal that it’s a common problem she’s faced, having previously gone by a different name.

“What’s really funny is [...] ‘Cuoco’ means ‘cook’ and I’ve gone by Kaley Cook for 20 years – my whole family is,” she said.

Funnily enough, Cuoco, 38, went on to experience an amusing coincidence with her second husband.

“And then I married Karl Cook, and it was like, so meant to be!” she joked.

Cuoco was married to equestrian Karl Cook for four years, having tied the knot in June 2018 before divorcing in 2022.

“You’re not wrong for getting my last name wrong, it’s been going on my whole life!” she said.

She was previously also married to professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting, and is now in a relationship with actor Tom Pelphrey.

Cuoco gave birth to her and Pelphrey’s first child – a daughter named Matilda - in March 2023.

And as for how her surname’s supposed to be pronounced, rather than KYU-OH-CO, which can feel like a bit of a mouthful, it’s actually the two-syllable KWOH-CO.